Making multitasking a thing of the past…
Multitasking has always been one of those things that puzzles me. Or at least degrees of multitasking, because of course there are times I’m doing more than one thing at once. When I multitask, it’s usually something along the lines of reading a book while boiling water or reviewing email while downloading my bank statements. And on the rare occasions it gets more involved than that, I notice the decrease in my attention span and in my ability to get any of the jobs done well.
So…it’s really the current trend of doing so many different things at once that I find difficult to understand. And the celebration of how cool or important it makes someone to text while speaking to someone, send emails while in a meeting, or make phone calls while driving. And the shocked and pitying looks one gets when admitting to not multitasking as a rule, as if it’s something to be ashamed of.
Apparently…singletasking is back. Like all trends, it seems the pendulum swung too far in one direction and is now trying to right itself. I, for one, applaud this and hope we can find equilibrium soon.